China Daily Oil Summary: Oil Demand Increased by 1.03% in March

China apparent oil demand increased by 1.03% year on year in March to 14.75mbpd, Customs General Administration data showed, cited by Bloomberg.

• China is to raise its gasoline price by 200 y/t and its diesel prices by 195 y/mt, according to NDRC, cited by Bloomberg.
• Chinese airlines flew a record number of passengers in the first quarter of this year according to Civil Aviation Administration of China.
• China intends to “steadily advance practical co-operation in many fields” with Iran according to its top diplomat, indicating relations between the nations remain on good ground despite raising escalations with Israel.
• The Chinese economy grew by 5.3% y/y, or 1.6% q/q, in Q1, beating the 4.6% forecast and accelerating from 2023's 5.2% growth, data released by the NBS showed.
• POLICY: China’s stronger-than-expected Q1 GDP of 5.3% is mainly driven by the rebound in industrial output and the improvement of the services industry, said Sheng Laiyun, deputy director of the NBS at a press conference
• FROM THE PRESS: The PBOC will likely cut the rate of the medium-term lending facility around mid-year by about 0.1-0.2 percentage points to stabilise real estate and boost demand while prices will remain low in the near future, said Wang Qing, analyst at Golden Credit Rating.